The General Dynamics F-111 is a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also fills the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s and first entering service in 1967, the United States Air Force (USAF) variants were officially retired by 1998. The only remaining operator of the F-111 is the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The F-111 pioneered several technologies for production military aircraft, including variable geometry wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and terrain following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design was highly influential, particularly for Soviet engineers, and some of its advanced features have since become commonplace. In its inception, however, the F-111 suffered a variety of development problems, and several of its intended roles, such as naval interception, failed to materialize.

In USAF service the F-111 has been effectively replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle for medium-range precision strike missions, while the supersonic bomber role has been assumed by the B-1B Lancer. In 2007, the RAAF decided to replace its 21 F-111s in 2010 with 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets.

Operation History

After early testing a detachment of six aircraft were sent in March 1968 to Southeast Asia for Combat Lancer testing in real combat conditions in Vietnam. It was not until July 1971 that the 474 TFW was fully operational.

September 1972 saw the F-111 back in Southeast Asia, participating in the final month of Operation Linebacker and later the Operation Linebacker II aerial offensive against the North. F-111 missions did not require tankers or ECM support, and they could operate in weather that grounded most other aircraft. One F-111 could carry the bomb load of four F-4 Phantom IIs. The worth of the new aircraft was beginning to show, and over 4,000 combat F-111A missions were flown over Vietnam with only six combat losses.

In 1977, under Operation Creek Swing/Ready Switch the remaining F-111As were transferred from Nellis AFB, Nevada to the 366 TFW based at Mountain Home AFB, equipping the 389th, 390th, and 391st TFS. As the Ready Switch component of that operation, F-111Fs and their crews flew their aircraft to RAF Lakenheath, England to replace the F-4s and their crews of the 492nd, 493rd, and 494th Tactical Fighter Squadrons. As part of that operation, the F-4s from Lakenheath may have moved to Nellis AFB, Nevada.

On 14 April 1986, 18 F-111s and approximately 25 Navy aircraft executed Operation El Dorado Canyon by conducting air strikes against Libya. The 18 F-111s belonging to the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing flew what turned out to be the longest fighter combat mission in history.[13] The round-trip flight between RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom and Libya of 6,400 miles (10,300 km) spanned 13 hours. One F-111 was shot down over Libya.[13]

In Desert Storm, F-111Fs completed 3.2 successful strike missions for every unsuccessful one, making it 47% more capable than the next leading strike aircraft.[14] The small 66-plane F-111F force was credited with 1,500 kills of Iraqi tanks and other mechanized vehicles. The F-111F was the only Desert Storm aircraft to deliver the GBU-15 and the 5,000-pound laser-guided, penetrating GBU-28.